Break The Sky
by Keahi08
Summary: It's for your country, Tsuna was told. But the higher up he ascended into the clouds, even with his comrades, his participation in this war seemed wrong. World War II AU, eventual 1827 and several other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Good Evening, FanFiction! I've returned with my newest project, an 1827 AU. Right now, this fic is my baby, and I'm hoping to make it my most emotional and powerful story so far. Please, enjoy (reviews would be wonderful).

**Break The Sky.**

In all honesty, it had started with his father. Or, in retrospect, it had started the day Tsuna had been taken to the festival with his father, and they had talked about the sky.

"You know, I can fly," His father had told him, as if commenting on the weather.

Tsuna had almost fallen off the man's shoulders. At that moment, his father had become his superhero, like in the manga he read, like the ones in books. "You can fly? Really? I-I wanna fly!" He had shouted.

His father had laughed, watching as the chemicals in the air exploded to make intricate patterns. "You'll fly," He told his son, wisely. "You'll take to the sky quickly, don't worry. I have a feeling you'll get it from me, and you'll be airborne in no time."

Yes, it had started with his Father. Even though his father was rarely home, even though his Father was off fighting. His father was his driving force, and although Tsuna didn't know it, he was his father's inspiration.

Always had been, right up to his death in 1937.

**October 21****st****, 1941**

Tsuna reasoned he should feel empty, insecure, out-of-place, scared. But in reality, he didn't. He felt odd, like something was off, but he wasn't scared. He didn't feel like much had changed. Even though he had just been put into foster care. Oddly enough, he felt only the slightest bit unnerved.

'_Something is wrong with me_,' he told himself. 'I _should feel scared, and lonely._'

Sawada Tsunayoshi had received a letter that his Father had been killed in action in December of 1937. It was not the best Christmas. Come to think of it, it was pretty much his last real Christmas. His father, Vice Admiral in the Japanese Air force, was a man loved by everyone, had been Tsuna's hero throughout his life, and had been taken from him far too easily. For a ten year olds Hero to be taken away from them was a horrible experience. To have a ten year olds father die was even worse.

And his mother, Nana, hadn't taken the news too well either. She gave her son smiles and encouraging words, she bore the weight of her husband's death for three years before dying, lost to a disease Tsuna didn't quite understand. He didn't think he cared about what disease it was, though. Just like he didn't care to read the details of the letter that told him how his Father had been killed. What mattered was that they were gone, and that was all he needed to know.

Well, other than the something-that-was-definitely-weird-but-he-couldn't-place-it, Tsuna did realize that there was one thing that was bothering him.

He felt like he would never, ever, amount to anything.

His parents encouraging words had been the only thing convincing Tsuna he wasn't worthless. He wasn't good at anything, he had no special skills, and the only thing that made him unique was his clumsiness, which was endearing for all of five seconds before he was annoying everyone even when trying his best. His only friends had been two girls at his school, and now that Tsuna had no one telling him otherwise, he was convinced he would never be good at anything – so why try?

And with that logic, Tsuna did little to nothing for the four months he was in the orphanage. Most of his time was spent thinking, thinking about what the appropriate reaction to the recent turn of events would be, and thinking about what we would do with his life now, things that a 15 year old boy should not be thinking about.

"Sawada? Are you listening?"

Tsuna's head shot up, looking at his instructor with wide eyes. His eyes hadn't changed. He had expected them to look sadder, deeper, but they never did. They stayed almost innocent, still clueless. "Yes?"

"I asked you a question. What would you like to do with your life?"

Worthless, useless, incompetent Tsuna answered, without missing a beat, "I wanna fly."

The teacher blinked, his piece of chalk hovering above the board. "You want to… fly…? Join the air force?"

Tsuna's Father, Iemetsu, the brave, kind man that he was, popped into several peoples mind, and the room feel silent, before Tsuna gave a small smile, something akin to innocence flashing over his features, before chirping, "Yeah. Like my dad."

"Dame Tsuna," the boys would tease, turning their back to him. "Not havin' you on my team. You always lose!"

Tsuna laughed quietly, almost inaudibly, at the nickname he had been given, and the fact that this was a common occurrence. But he didn't quite mind. Although he did get lonely, he was a bit too confused about things in general to hang onto the loneliness he felt. Most of his time was spent by himself, but for some reason unknown to even him, he still walked around feeling optimistic. When, really, he shouldn't, but he guessed that was just a part of his personality. He didn't know if it was good or bad yet.

In the small town of Nanimori, the people still said hello to him. Shop owners waved and Neighbors gave him food, but he wasn't homeless. He talked to people, he laughed, he wasn't miserable – but that was the problem. Why wasn't he miserable?

"See that?" Prompted a voice, as a hand took a firm grip on his shoulder. "I'm thinking about going with the pilots."

Yamamoto Takeshi was tall, strong, well-built, and of legal age: 18. He was a thousand times more 'optimistic' then Tsuna, and maybe a little stupid, but Tsuna thought that maybe that was just an act sometimes. Other times he couldn't tell.

"Going off with the pilots?" Tsuna echoed, climbing onto the railing in an attempt to get see at Yamamoto's height, who stood a good two feet taller than himself. Laughing, his friend helped him onto balancing onto the railing outside of the pharmacy they stood in front of, and Tsuna blushed, embarrassed that he needed help in the first place – especially from someone three years his senior.

Once he found his balance, Tsuna turned to look at Yamamoto seriously, or, as serious as Tsuna could muster. "So wait—You're thinking of leaving? And going with them? B-But they're going… going to…"

"Hong Kong," Nodded Yamamoto, watching as several people caught sight of the sign the traveling captain had placed on a post for recruits. "I don't see anything wrong with that. Aren't I fighting for my country?"

"Go!" scoffed the person on the other side of Tsuna, his hands in his pockets. "Can't wait to get you out of this town, idiot…"

"Gokudera," Whimpered Yamamoto, picking on the other. "You'll break my heart!"

Tsuna watched on, vaguely listening to his friends bicker behind him (or rather, Yamamoto pick and Gokudera whine). Tsuna thought, for a moment, about how things were always changing, but he wondered just how much these changes affected him.

"Yamamoto," he called, still watching the fliers being taken down by citizens, as they inspected the offer. "…Let me come with you."

Yamamoto, who had Gokudera up in the air to twirl him around and cry about how much his heart was breaking, froze, and stared at the younger boy. "Eh? Ah, Tsunayoshi, don't you think you, ah…"

_Don't you think you're a little hopeless_, finished Tsuna's mind, but his face remained unfazed. He smiled to himself, looking up towards the sky. "All the way to Hong Kong, right?" He echoed, imagining himself flying about in the sky he was so intent on staring at. "So… You'd have to fly. Even the ones who aren't fighting would be flying right?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Pushing Yamamoto away violently, Gokudera grabbed hold of the railing Tsuna was perched upon and leaned forward, catching sight of the younger boys face. "You're not… thinking about going with him? Juudaime? Please tell me you're not thinking of—"

"Hey, I think that's a great idea!"

"Of course you do," scoffed Gokudera, scowling at the dark-haired boy. "Juudaime, let's think about this."

Tsuna sighed, bracing himself for what was to come. "You know, I don't think we have to." He said, looking over his shoulder. A warm, pleading smile spread over his features – pleading for Gokudera not to dive too deep and to – really – keep his nose out of Tsuna's business. "I'd be making myself useful, couldn't I?"

Oh, how he had perfected the act of not realizing how useless he was. Of pretending to hope.

Yamamoto simply smiled, patting the smaller boy on the back. "Sounds like a plan!" He looked over his shoulder to Gokudera, who had his arms crossed over his chest and was scowling at the pavement. "Wanna come with us?"

The silver-haired boy kicked a rock. "…I guess."

Nanimori was one of the smallest towns he had been in in a while, he noted.

"The flyer," he mentioned, turning around to look over his subordinates. "It specifically said five o'clock, didn't it?"

"Yes, Captain," replied Chrome, stepping out of the plane. "Five o'clock _sharp_, underlined and everything." With gentle steps, she sat down beside her captain and smiled. "…Hibari-San, don't worry. Remember whose hometown this is. People will come."

Hibari sighed quietly, enjoying the peacefulness the town provided. He was grateful he had taken this mission up – it was wonderful to get away from the busy people at the base. His problem was that this was a small town – and even if people did come, who's to say any of them would be competent enough to fly a plane?

He supposed he could find at least a few people – at least a few people Iemetsu had inspired. And maybe that inspiration, that devotion and admiration akin to what he had for the man, would be enough to spark it. Maybe, if he prayed to whatever God there might have been, this wouldn't be for nothing.

"I take it the plane's in order, then," He commented, turning to look at Chrome as the girl stood up to inspect it from afar. She wore a 'special uniform' her captain Mukuro had designed for her (a short skirt and choppy top, probably cut up and sewn together from the regular uniform), and even though several people had said on several occasions it was inappropriate, Mukuro would tell them to make an exception, and for him, it was made.

"All ship-shape," she chirped, attempting to make a joke, and Hibari forced the tiniest hint of a smile to humor her, then went back to scowling. "They should be coming soon… Do you want me to round everyone up?"

Hibari groaned softly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ugh… If you would."

Then the crowd came.

Truth be told, it was sort of a pitiful excuse for a crowd. With a quick look, Hibari could see just how many people had come – 15 – and he resisted the urge to moan loudly in protest. He had came all the way out here to some rundown town for 15 people – most of who wouldn't even qualify? Sometimes he questioned his own sanity, and asked himself why he had signed up for this. Then he was reminded. He knew why had signed up for this. He had taken the mission because the Vice Admiral was from this town, and he jumped at the chance to see it for himself.

A part of him came to hope and pray – and look for if he had to, dammit – Iemetsu's son, whom he so frequently spoke of. How sweet and good-natured he was, how loyal, how cute, how trustworthy. Iemetsu had been a role-model, a superior, a friend – and at times a father figure. His death had affected Hibari just as much as it affected his real son, he told himself, and for some foolish reason, he felt as though Nanimori was calling for him.

Something was waiting for him. He could feel it. Or, he thought, someone.

The Captain stood, his eyes sweeping over the new recruits. He felt something in the back of his mind urging him to search the crowd for Iemetsu's eyes, but the businesslike standpoint he had acquired over the years dug it's hooves in and forced him not to stray from the task at hand. He spotted a few that would probably be coming with him, and a few that he knew he would be dismissing. But before he got to that part, there were the formalities to be taken care of.

"Residents of Nanimori," he addressed them as, and his voice was soft and dangerous and betrayed not the longing he felt to weed through the crowd in search for the Sawada boy. "My name is Hibari Kyouya. I come from the Naval Air Facility of Atsugi, and I am here to recruit – is about the gist of it. But you already knew that."

He was intimidating them, he noticed. That was good. Should he scare anyone off, then he could dub them as a weak herbivore and move on.

"Behind me, as you can see, is a 660 fighter. Your job today is to see if you can figure out how to get it off the ground without making an idiot of yourself. If you can do that, you can follow my crew and I to the Atsugi base, where you will undergo training." Hibari looked over the crowd, spotting several faces that wore near the same expression he was wearing, and several the seemed a little nervous. "And that is the briefest explanation I can give you," He sighed. "I'd like to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Let's get this show on the road, herbivores."

The crowd was quiet, and amidst them, Tsuna thought to himself, _Herbivores?_

Chrome stepped up, clutching the flyers she had previously planted around town. "Ah—what my captain has failed to mention is that the position of pilot is the only one we're opening." Timidly, she showed the crowd her papers. "We'll also need medical assistants, dispatchers, and intelligence officers. Anyone interested in the above openings, please come with me."

As a majority of the people in the small crowd were men, a majority of them flocked the Chrome, which made Hibari twitch visibly. Though some were left standing with him, and he supposed he could live with that.

The Captain turned on his heel and motioned for the crowd to follow, and while Yamamoto and Tsuna were content to pursue him, Gokudera had already dug his feet into the ground like the stubborn bull he was. The silver-haired boy pulled at Yamamoto's collar and yanked him over violently. "Listen, you," He hissed. "I'm going to follow the girl – because there is no way in hell I am leaving you two alone to go to—to go anywhere! So you'd better keep a good eye on Tsunayoshi, got it?"

The taller boy smiled, resting his hand over Gokudera's warmly. "Of course," he chided, making the other flush deeply and zip around to storm off. Yamamoto watched him go for a moment, before shining a blinding smile at his smaller companion. "Well!" He chirped, marching off. "Plane's don't fly themselves, Na, Tsuna?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: **Hello, guys! :D Wow, this took too long to update, especially for small chapters like this. Sorry, I'm a failure. I love you, though! Especially my pretty reviewers. But even if you're just a reader, you have a spot in my heart. So, without further ado, I hope I don't disappoint!

Psst, P.S, if you like this story, you should read Jikage's story, The Boogie Man. It was pretty much a huge inspiration and I cry large elephant tears when it's updated.

**Break The Sky.**

Had any other group come to Nanimori to teach the residents how to fly planes, there would've been no trouble. But no other group had The Colonel among their ranks.

Colonello, as he liked to be called, was from Italy and was most likely the most die-hard, irritating, thick- headed man at the Atsugi Base. And he worked with Hibari. Hibari and Colonello had settled into a not-quite friendship sort of thing. Even though the Italian man technically worked under Hibari, the both of them silently agreed they were equals. They were fighting for the same side, were in the same line of work, and saw each other every day.

This did not mean Hibari agreed with Colonello's methods.

"Alright," Roared the Colonel (who, really, was a Lieutenant Commander, but everyone called him The Colonel), as he pushed one of the recruits out of the plane almost cheerfully. "Did pretty good, kora! Who's next?"

Hibari twitched slightly, hearing the Colonel's speech habit again. He'd thought that after working with the man for so long, he wouldn't hate it so much, but it seemed as though a deeper sort of hatred would fester inside Hibari's stomach whenever he heard it. How anyone else managed to overlook it, or even come to _like it_ as some of the recruits did, was completely beyond him.

The boy at the front of the line was tall and almost unrealistically happy-looking, and had a spring in his step that was so free and cheerful, Hibari wondered why this boy was signing up for the _air force_. He smiled at the Colonel with a smile that said he couldn't hurt a fly if he tried and saluted the officer. "I'm next," he chirped. "Yamamoto Takeshi!"

Furrowing his blonde eyebrows, Colonello seemed to be on the same train of thought as Hibari was with this kid, but he simply shrugged it off. "Whatever," He murmured to himself, walking back over to the small plane. "Lemme show you how this works…"

The next boy in line was obviously not 18, but neither was Hibari when he joined, so he wasn't really one to judge. He seemed nervous, fidgety as he was, and was biting his lip.

Hibari was immediately disgusted. Although even through disgust, he found it was difficult to keep his comments to himself. He was not particularly known for being merciful or friendly to the newcomers (or anyone else, for that matter), but for some reason he felt the need to bite down the spiteful things on his tongue, things that he normally would've let flow.

Perhaps it was pity, though Hibari doubted he had much, if any, of that.

Eventually, the boy below him noticed Hibari's staring, and he slowly looked up, as if one wrong move would result in a kick in the face. After shivering and staring for a good three minutes, it was the Captain who broke their silence.

"Hibari."

The boy visibly flinched – Hibari would go so far as to say he jumped out of his dirty little shoes – and made an odd sort of squeaking sound, and Hibari asked himself why these unfit residents were joining the _goddamn air-force_ for the umpteenth time that afternoon, as he stopped himself from groaning or rolling his eyes. "My name," He hissed at the boy, keeping his eyes focused on the planes in the air. "Captain Hibari Kyoya."

The brunette stared at him with eyes large and doe-eyed, before following his line of vision and watching his friend clumsily fly the fighter about. He smiled faintly, a twitch of a thing on his face for a moment, but Hibari caught it, and there was an odd, almost comfortable silence.

"…So you don't have a name," Mumbled the Captain, a bit unnerved to have been the only one talking (and maybe a little irritated that the brat had pretty much ignored him). He crossed his arms over his chest and watched the smaller boy, gauging for a reaction.

Said reaction was the recruit jumping (again) and making that same squeaking noise (again). He looked up at Hibari and fidgeted for a moment before finally stuttering though a sentence. "Tsuna," He said, his lips fumbling to form words. "O-Or, No—Sawada Tsunayoshi."

And, looking back, Hibari gathered that was where his life took a sharp turn for the interesting, or as it could also be classified as, the exasperatingly stressful.

"Ugh," Came a somewhat rough voice, and Enma looked up tiredly to meet the eyes of the Lieutenant Commander staring back at him. "How're things goin' on this end of the line, kora?"

"Colonel," replied the redheaded boy, quietly, and he shrugged. "Fine. Why? Are yours being difficult?"

Colonello smirked to himself, ruffling Enma's hair fondly before walking into the makeshift tent that had been hoisted up and grabbing for a canteen of water. "Nah, they're all scaredy cats. But they're good kids, kora."

A small hint of a smile graced Enma's bruised face, and he watched the Colonel take a drink from the canteen, a bit enamored. Matching his oddly colored eyes and hair, his cheeks slowly dusted over with a dull shade of magenta, and once he realized he was staring, he zipped his head back down to the clipboard he held.

"H-How many?" He all but squeaked, and then coughed embarrassedly. "Are left, I mean. To fly."

"Hm?" Colonello wiped his mouth with his wrist, and walked on over to the intelligence officer (in training), sitting down next to him casually. "Eh, there's one last one. And Kyoya seemed pretty intent on being the one to prep him, kora. All but threatened me, but I don't know why."

Twisting his expression into a thoughtful frown, Enma flipped a couple papers over the clipboard in his hands, pursing his lips together. "If this is the last one, he's…"

There, sitting at the bottom of Enma's list, the word Sawada shone out like a bright flame, punching both of the officers in the face. Comically, they looked at each other, eyes-wide (or, as wide as ever-bored and apathetic Enma could get, before he realized that Colonello was staring at him before they actually widened), before both of them shot up to watch the show.

"Ah, Colonello-San, Enma—" Chrome raised her hand, about to stop them, but instead let them scurry off, and she sighed.

…_Men._

"…Miss Dokuro?" Piped one of the recruits. "You were showing us how to nurse a wound?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes!"

_Alright, Kyoya,_ he told himself. _Deep breaths_.

Aside from the time Iemetsu had taught _him_ how to fly a plane for the first time, Hibari concluded that this was the most nerve-wracking moment of his life, and he had no idea why, which was the most irritating thing he had ever experienced.

Hibari was bracing himself on the back of the small seat Tsuna was sitting in, trying to keep himself from hyperventilating into the boy's ear – the same boy who, might he add, but was inspecting the controls casually, as if he couldn't care less. Innocently, his tipped his head back, meeting the eyes of his instructor.

And they stared for a while.

"…So, are you…?"

Tsuna let the sentence hang, instead opting to stare at Hibari's tense expression, before the older man scowled at him. "Am I…? Finish your sentences, herbivore."

Squeaking again, the brunette took to fidgeting in his seat for a moment before finding his voice. "A-Are you going to show me how to work this… Sir?"

Hibari almost smirked at that, but instead took a moment to compose himself before leaning forward and pointing to several buttons and switches, flicking them on and pushing them down while staring intently on the small recruit. "Alright, listen."

Tsuna gulped.

"You have to flip these two on if you want to start the engine, but if the engine still doesn't work, you can use this one too." With a quick movement of his fingers, Tsuna heard the small fighter come to life with a tame roar of the engine, and his heart fluttered in his chest as the seat vibrated lightly. Hibari took no notice and kept speaking, but Tsuna was vaguely listening. Subtly, slowly, his hands moved to the controls, inspecting them, and only coming out of his stupor when Hibari briefly explained what the thing his hand was currently poised over did.

Something odd slipped into Tsuna, some odd feeling unknown to him. Control?

Exercising a large amount of self-control (as not to strangle the boy), Hibari leaned away and watched him. "Now get it off the ground and don't crash it."

If there was one person that made your self-confidence die, Tsuna concluded, it was Captain Hibari Kyoya. That feeling of control died on his fingertips, and he was left fumbling against the controls, conjuring up ways he could die.

"Hurry up, Herbivore," Hissed the captain, glaring daggers at the boys head. "We haven't got all day. If you don't want to do it, get out and go home."

The words had to claw themselves out of Hibari's throat. He wanted them to feel natural, and he was a little disgusted with himself because he didn't want to say them, but he wanted to want to say them—And yes, he thought, this is going to be stressful.

He hoped that Sawada Tsunayoshi quickly learned to read and interpret him. Iemetsu's son was sitting _right in front of him_ - and Hibari wasn't letting him get away without a fight.

Tsuna looked up, checking to see if the switches Hibari had flicked on were still in their right position. Nervously, he wrapped his thing finger around the joystick protruding from the control panel, and eased it forward.

While Hibari remained as still as a statue, Tsuna was shivering in his seat, edging the small fighter forward. He narrowed his eyes, staring out the front window, glancing around nervously—and oh god, was he doing this right? If he messed up, would Hibari mark him off? Was he doing this right? What other way was there to do it? Was this the right thing to be doing? Should he have stayed home—

A hand was placed over his own, and the plane took off with a jerk of the stick that Hibari had caused, through Tsuna's hand.

His first instinct was to jump back and squeal, and he did lean back into the seat out of pure terror, but Hibari was beside him, edging him on, and Tsuna didn't know if that was making the situation worse or better.

"Nothing too fancy today," said the Captain, calmly, letting go of Tsuna's hands. "Just something simple. Show me you're not completely useless."

But I am, Tsuna wanted to say. And he almost did.

Then he realized he was up in the air.

His fingers went lax on the joystick, his eyes widened for a split second, and he stared at the clouds. He was flying. He was in the sky.

_The Sky._

Fingers tightened around the control again, and Tsuna pushed it forward, down, and the engine purred in response. A small hint of a smile – a smirk, even – graced his face, and he let out a choked, dry laugh. His other hand, which had been clutching the seat, ducked under the control panel and pulled a lever, causing the plane to drop lightly, then take off harder and faster.

Delusional, maybe, Tsuna laughed, looked up, and stared at the sun. It was bright and made him flinch, but he blinked it off like it was nothing and swerved downward. The roar of the fighter was loud in his ears, and he had almost forgotten that the Captain was behind him. Tsuna cocked his head and glanced at Hibari, who, as he expected, was impossible to read.

On the surface, Hibari stilled himself. Inside, a storm was raging. A storm of glory, of power, of respect, of—of home. He hoped to God that same storm was whirling around inside Tsuna's chest like it was his.

"D-Down," he finally choked out, glancing around nervously for a split-second. "Take us down, Sawada."

And oh God, Tsuna was _Sawada_ now.

"Holy shit!" screamed Colonello, gripping Enma tight and damn near tearing him apart. "Did you fuckin' see that? Kora, that's—Fuck me, that's Sawada's kid!"

Enma let out a choked, happy, scared laugh, clinging to the Colonel as not to be dropped. "M-Mm. As expected, right?"

With a smirk, Colonello set the trainee down and ruffled his hair fondly. "Was' that, kora? Little undertone of something? Jealous?"

Enma gave a dry look that could put Hibari's glares to shame. _Yes_, it said, _of-fucking-course I'm jealous, you asshole_. Colonello blanked, patted the boys head a final time, sniffed, and looked away awkwardly.

By that time, the crowd had been drawn. Gokudera was currently tearing through the horde of officers and recruits, and only stopped when he saw Tsuna gingerly climb out of the small fighter. His voice caught in his throat; he wanted to yell at the Captain, standing so close to him, and to scream at the crowd to disperse so he could get by, but Yamamoto beat him to the punch.

"Hey, Tsuna!" He called, cheerfully waving. "That was so cool! Haha, you did much better than me! Come here, I wanna—Gokudera, where's he going?"

The silver-haired boy bristled, glaring daggers at the Captain as he led Tsuna into the tent. "That's exactly what I want to know…"

Bypassing the crowd, Hibari casually plucked the clipboard Enma was holding (not noticing the small boys slight squeak that Tsuna completely identified with), and flipped through it, stopping at one of the last few pages and placing a clean check-mark next to Tsuna's name. He placed it on Chrome's makeshift desk where she was packing the first-aid's kit up, and gave her a dry look.

"Are we about ready to leave, yet," He asked, voice low, and Chrome glanced between her Captain and the small recruit, before smiling shyly.

"Yes."


End file.
